Skip to main content

tv   [untitled]    March 11, 2013 4:30am-5:00am PDT

4:30 am
world. it arrived in san francisco in 1912. that ship was the s s cleveland known as the majestic cruise liner carrying people from around the world. each city that was lucky enough to receive that ship received great prosperity. imagine what that might have been like in 1912 as our great fore fathers were building the city after the earthquake. it was a moment us occasion. i want to thank the mayor's for standing here as we move forward with our heritage and leave lead the generations to
4:31 am
come. i would like to introduce the honorable mayor ed lee, the board of supervisors david chew, and many commissioners of many of those agencies and of course the president of our port commissions, dorene, the honorable mayor willie brown in the back and the of course the amazing and brilliant port staff. thank you all for being
4:32 am
here today. i want to take a moment of where we are in cruising. the cruise lines are building new ships and doubling their fleet. their carrying double or triple times the amount of passengers as before. but shockingly in the united states, cruise terminal are shrinking. and the industry is expanding, cruise cities and cruise ports are trying to figure out how to address that demand. in many cases those ports are putting up tents to process passengers as the port of san francisco does when we have too many ships or they are rehabilitating warehouse sheds
4:33 am
at pierre 35 and dog doing what we have done here today in building a new terminal. this terminal, unlike any other in the nation is dual purposed everything about this terminal is meant to be used for cruise shipping and efficiency, but also for the region and for the visitors and the residents alike. not just the terminal itself, but the park that will come in 2014. the immense valley here and at the end, of course i must point out the expansive apron which will be available to the public everyday except for when the ship is in. there is new ships in asia. this terminal will compete with that. this terminal is unlike any other in that it is an environmental
4:34 am
steward representing san francisco's reputation for leading the future off better than the past. this terminal has a unique namesake, named after james herman, president of the international long shore and warehouse unit it is a fitting name because herman was adamant that san francisco with an into leave behind it's meritime routines roots and he yelled and screamed and advocated and thanks to him, our city will always be a world class water front city. when you see his name on this building, i hope it will remind you not just of our meritime roots but our meritime future. again, please take credit and great pride for your part in contributing to this great day.
4:35 am
it is with gray great honor that on behalf of the port commissioner that i get to introduce the honorable mayor lee. as you know he's a came poison champion of the economic diversity and making sure jobs are available and opportunities. please join me in welcoming mayor ed lee. >> thank you. good afternoon, everyone. this is such a marvelous site to enjoy especially today with the weather we have. it's will be beginning the summer of
4:36 am
sailing; right? this is really what monique has enthusiastically already explained paying tribute to james herman and also a way to honor the port, it's mission, it's chartered mission was to revitalize this waterfront and bring people here in positive ways and this terminal has been discussed for so long and i remember even the days i was working for willie, that this was a dream we have and now to be able to see how this got done and to congratulate all the partnerships for on time and within that $46 million budget. that's good. they did it. again in a very honorable way. they have exceeded the
4:37 am
local hiring goals to the tune of 26 percent and 19 percent local business enterprises. i want to thank the collaboration of d p services and their collaboration with the port and all of the others to put this terminal to make sure it was done early enough and of course i don't think it would have been done without this push that of us were lucky to really be able to receive from america's cup. i want to take the at some point to thank the organizing committee and the event authority in working together with the city and the port in making sure this got thrust out as one of the first projects to be visibly there to signal a legacy that will go well beyond the two hostings of america's cup. see how i
4:38 am
slipped that in there? for years and years, this will be the legacy not only as a cruise ship terminal, but they love these opportunities where there is creations and more space for people to come and visit. residents as well as outside visitors to show case. on days like this where you live on lombardy, you can see how lucky we are. i feel very lucky to be a mayor of a great city to have so many great parts working so fabulously together whether it's public works, fire chief, police stations working together. we do it locally and do it the right way. this is so
4:39 am
exemplary of these kinds of projects that have gone all the way on every front to be so inclusive for everybody. and, just in a very short few weeks, we'll see the sailing races that begin. i know america's cup will be taking over this spot for the months for the races beginning this weekend, but in a very short time after that in march, we'll begin phase 2 of this project which is the public works and recollect recreation and park. phil is here to make sure this happens. you are standing on two-and-a-half acres that will be the most beautiful space you will see in your lifetime as we landscape this and there will be people that will appreciate
4:40 am
this area that compliments this beautiful terminal and 20 thousand people will embark from this terminal and spends lots of money here. and now that is to fast forward these projects whether it's here, the space and now you see the construction along the jefferson realm and how we are going to change that area and improve it and all the water front improvements. these are great gifts. i look forward to all of these projects, to this, not only this ribbon cutting but continued collaboration with everyone in the city as to how we build on our success and keep the promise that san francisco will present itself as it's world class status
4:41 am
should for everybody who wants to come into this city, they get to enjoy the world class city that is san francisco, thank you very much. >> thank you so much mr. mayor. we are glad to have you leading our team. we look forward to many more days like today. so thank you all for bringing that great spirit with you today. before i introduce the next speaker, i would like to mention former port commissioners who are here, this project is such a long time coming, they have each and everyone great roll in it. i would like to present fire commissioner, former planning commissioner rodney fong, and
4:42 am
former commissioner f x kroully and lazarus. and former port commissioner frankie lee. thank you all for your leadership. and continuely pushing us to get here today. now it's my honor to introduce the president of our board of supervisors, someone from the day when he was elected he became involved in this project chaming it for all of us, not just a place where we can work but also a place where we can be entertained and enjoy it and it's so important for him that this terminal and this site is fullness for the fabric of the city and i would leak like to say a special thank you to the board of supervisors david chew. >> thank you. i would like to
4:43 am
welcome you to the most beautiful district of san francisco. i'm sorry kim and i were late because we left a meeting that is still going on right now. 21 years ago i visited san francisco for the first time as a tourist. i walked along these piers, i decided that i had to live in san francisco some day. it is so amazing to me to be able to wake up and represent the district that includes some of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the city that includes this water front. as monique alluded as i ran in 2008, my constituents said what
4:44 am
are you going to do to make sure this doesn't fall into the water piers. with the jefferson project moving forward and with the american cup moving forward and with this incredible opening, we are rebuilding what 21st water front is all about. i'm so excited because i know for the better part of this century we are going to see millions of folks come to this very point, the intersection of land and sea, the intersection of one of the most beautiful -- of the world. when i think of the elected officials, i
4:45 am
think of some okay if on this cruise ship terminal there is going to be a young ed lee from seattle, a young freddie brown and someone like james coming from new york city come here or a 21-year-old chinese kid from the city of boston who is coming to this spot and say i'm going to make san francisco my home because of the work that you have done together. think for thank you for part of this vision. >> thank you president chew. i have a long list of things for you to do. glad you are game. mohammed i know that he would have want to say how wonderfully and great the
4:46 am
department of public works has been on behalf of the city of this project. they responded to the ports call for help and the most flexible allies as we have come along to accommodate newer and greater budgets, they have great architectural design teams, and so many others and i know that mohammed would really want to thank all of the workers who are here on site, but most especially the members of the department of public works and the port staff who have made this all possible and
4:47 am
so in mohammed's absence, thank you all. >> next it is my honor to introduce turner construction. he's leading this group on the most amazing american made project. as you look around you will notice there is great structural steel american made. there is great glass, american made. as the mayor mentioned there is tremendous local hire participation. regional participation. this is built by those who will use it and love it forever. we commend all of you for doing that. so please help me welcome kauf dar.
4:48 am
>> first let me thank the director to include me in the design project today. and secondly let me take the opportunity to thank the mayor and his administration and the leadership in the city of san francisco because these are exciting times for design and construction industry. as you can witness as we drive around you see the cranes. it was not too long ago, as you remember, july 17, the topping out of the last steel beam. it's only about 7-and-a-half months later she's all dressed up and ready for the promise at a remarkable speed. this project i believe has achieved new levels of collaboration for the public project. we started construction in about may 1st
4:49 am
and 10 months later the project is done. this could not have been done without the collaboration with the port, the d p w and the management team behind me. i think this project could become a good case study for how fast. the mayor spoke of the numbers in how we are almost 20 percent micro businesses participating in the first phase. over 25 percent of the san francisco residents working object on-the-job and a thousand workers. every worker that comes to the site comes to an orientation. based on those numbers when we start phase two in november, i would imagine we'll have six or 700 jobs
4:50 am
created. i want to thank the contractors, the unions, the design team and the leadership for the success of this project. thank you. >> thank you. ladies and gentlemen please can i have a round of applause for all the workers who delivered this in crazy hours, crazy days, working at night. you know how cold it is out here at night? i'm impressed. those fingers work really hard. next it's my honor to introduce the president of the port commission. dorene, charges this under new territory under here guidance and expanding like crazy and doing amazing things and attracting all of your support. please welcome port commission president
4:51 am
dorene. >> good afternoon. i have been very blessed to all of the commissioners to be here today and i'm certainly not alone. when mayor asked me about the port commission and we talked a lot about the challenges and all the issues. i guess i never knew how much reward there is going to be in being on the commission when you see within a short few months you see the realization of dreams and visions of what makes the water front so exciting. i think i have joined in a great period where we are activateing the water area from jefferson street to where we see jack bare from the giants. it's just
4:52 am
endless. i can tell i we have long commission meetings but we've all loved the work we are doing. i think we want to thank so many people because certainly without dedication and perseverance we could not have made this happen and if you think about the enormous collaboration. we would like to thank the mayor, the board of supervisor and mr. chew, the former port commissioner david lee that recommended a public finances project. we know there were several attempts. this is the fourth attempt before this happened. we have a lot of communities involved, the advisory group and the commerce
4:53 am
advisory committee has provided a lot of input and in terms of other president of other commissioners, and unfortunately commissioner adams couldn't be here today,
4:54 am
>> i think this is also, the
4:55 am
cruising industry puts over $30 million into the local economy. i think the first thing we are very excite d to be able to go off with a big bang and as the first user and that couldn't be more than more fire crackers to be the first user and with everybody with all the plans they have and i'm going to allow steven to explain to you what's going to happen to the terminal with the america's cup. steven? >> thank you. congratulations to the city and to the port on this time. the cruise ship
4:56 am
terminal really looks fantastic. what i would like to do is thank monique again. she said to me the cruise ship channel would be ready for us to take it on in march. i have to apologize. i was a little skeptical. i might have said that once or twice. it really is an fantastic effort by the port in the next 12 weeks we are getting it ready for the international media. the public will be involved in the entertainment areas and into a sports bar for the conflict. if
4:57 am
you look behind me up there. all of the people that come here, the international media to experience the america's cup in san francisco. it's absolutely fantastic. as i said, for us this is a start. we've got about 10-12 weeks to get this facility ready. that's what we are doing to get ourselves to the start of the summer here in san francisco. that period starts around the 4th of july and go until about the 20th of september. we are going to experience 50 days of racing up and down the bay. all i want to say in conclusion is we are very proud to be alongside the city and the port. we are thrilled that the america's cup is to help get this facility here to san franciscoance.
4:58 am
thank you very much. >> thank you all, turner and everyone for making me look good. i mentioned at the outset that this is only in a san francisco moment. the one thing i haven't mentioned yet that this is the only facility that is going to tame, diesel, powered engines and wind powered boats for vastly different uses. we couldn't be more proud of that opportunity and we thank you steven barclay for that opportunity to show case how ports can be modernized to show present and past and future. i would also like to recognize some members from the america as cup organizing committee here
4:59 am
today. thank them for all they have done to make this a marquis for our city. now we are going to cut the ribbon here and invite all of you to come upstairs to see for yourselves this perfect picture frame of the i iconic and exciting san francisco from the bay bridge, to the building to the tower and the beautiful housing nestled into telegraph hill. it's one and only in the world and thank you for being part of it. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [ applause ]